


Listen to what I tell you

by Tedious_snow



Series: Bedtime stories [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Era, Canon Universe, Fluff, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin) Is A Little Shit, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, No Angst, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23898787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tedious_snow/pseuds/Tedious_snow
Summary: Erwin has enough of officers telling him of Levi's disobedience and takes it into his own hands to have a talk with him. He also fans over Levi's flying.---“Well, y-yes... but...” Walbrunn paused. “That was him flying off.”“Flying off?”
Relationships: Levi/Erwin Smith
Series: Bedtime stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1711192
Comments: 4
Kudos: 93





	Listen to what I tell you

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be about Erwin teaching Levi to 'fly' but I feel it dragged on too long.

Outside the window was a marvellous sight. Erwin often looked outside when lost in thought, staring off into the distant hills or rolling plains with a softened eye. From here, he couldn't even see the walls. He was grateful. In their place he invariably saw the ever-changing canvas of nature and the seasons it lay before him. Summers always brought that lulling haze with their lush ripening of greenery and warm storms while Winters consistently gave the area that fresh, crisp feel. But regardless of the time, Erwin considered the view outside his window a wondrous one.

Today, he looked through the panes once again as he rested his eyes from the listless documents. The dying sun filtered straight in from the glass to warm his face and tint the otherwise green landscape a delicate gold. He watched with a quiet rapture as the new recruits soared through the air, albeit clumsily, and weaved through a lone line of trees. The tall pines' wood must be splintering by now yet they still stood proud and barely canted at the weight of a recruit. A few barks of the officers drifted in through an open pane. They spiked in volume.

A lone figure sped through the air and needled the trees in quick succession. Erwin first thought an officer, with the sureness the speck moved, yet came to the conclusion that an officer wouldn't move so recklessly. No, this figure was far shorter than any officer he sent out in training today. Yet it far outpaced the skill of any new recruit too; with this fluidity they didn't just drag themselves through the air like the rest, they _flew_. Erwin smiled and watched in mild astonishment as the speck continued passing through the sparse trees, eventually flying over the fence boundary and off into the thick of the forest only used for practice expeditions.

The shouting eventually dulled and the recruits filed back into the building. Erwin didn't see the figure coming back to join them.

\---

A knock.

“Come in,” The door swung open and Walbrunn entered, clasping a pile of papers in one hand. He stopped shortly after stepping in and saluted stiffly. “At ease.”

“Sir, the training reports of today, as you ordered.” The man marched across and laid the documents onto his desk.

“Thank you, Walbrunn.” The officer turned. “Hang on, before you leave; I must ask you about the new recruit.” He twisted back and raised a brow.

“ _The_ new recruit? Sir, there are many of them”

“Ah, my apologies. No no, I meant the one I assigned to you, after Flagon died.” He gestured vaguely to the papers on his desk. “Levi.” The officer tensed a fraction.

“Right. What about him?”

“What's your personal report on him?”

“I'd say he's performing poorly in all skills. He can't follow a single instruction, and completely disregards orders.” Walbrunn shifted awkwardly. “He acts like he's above us all and disregards rank.”

“Mmh? I saw him outperforming every single one of his peers today, dare I say that's the best flying I've seen.” Erwin gauged the man's reaction. “I can't call that performing poorly in _all_ skills.”

“Well, y-yes... but...” Walbrunn paused. “That was him flying off.”

“ _Flying off_?”

“You see, sir, he flies off when he's forced to follow orders...” Erwin considered the information for a moment before waving the officer off.

“Thank you, Walbrunn. You're dismissed for mess.”

“Sir!” The man saluted before turning and striding from the office. _Flying off._ Erwin shook his head in amusement and chuckled to himself. _Never heard that before._

Later, just an hour or two after the day's activities had ended and when Erwin was sure his target had returned, Erwin headed for the mess hall. The evening meal smelled appetising, yet he didn't dare stop to eat.

“Save me two portions, Mike,” He clasped the other's shoulder as he passed the queue.

“ _Two_ portions, Erwin?” He waved a hand over his shoulder in confirmation and continued his brusque walk.

Locating Levi was not a hard task. He found the man sat a good distance from the other new recruits on his table, silently shovelling soup and radiating menace. Yet his peers seemed to be admiring him, albeit from a distance. With Erwin's appearance the table quietened noticeably and all looked up at him with small, frightened eyes. Some saluted.

“At ease,” He smiled reassuringly at them. He looked up the length of the table, where sat the only recruit who seemingly hadn't noticed him. “Levi.” The man continued to shovel soup into his mouth. A recruit nearby elbowed him and he swore.

“What?” He finally met Erwin's eyes.

“Follow me.” Levi paused for a moment and seemed to contemplate, before the disgusted look returned on his face.

“Why should I?” Erwin frowned at that.

“Because your commanding officer told you to.” Levi leered and slowly slid off the bench, casting a glare at any who was watching the scene; which was, unfortunately, half the mess. Erwin turned and made for the hallway, Levi ambling behind. They continued through the corridor and eventually stopped by a supply closet, just off by the exit to the training grounds.

“I thought you wanted to talk to me?” Levi finally spoke when he saw Erwin was unlocking the closet.

“You thought right.” Erwin opened the doors and held out a pair of maneuver gear, offering one to the other. “Put this on.” Levi froze and stared blankly at Erwin.

“But I just traine-”

“Put this on.” He repeated and gently pushed the gear into the other's chest. He heard Levi grumble something inaudible yet he complied. They both laced the straps around themselves and clicked the uniform in place silently. Erwin filled the gas canisters for both of them and by the time they exited the building the sun was already halfway down the distant hills. He took a turn off the path leading to the training grounds.

“Oi, where are we going?”

“Stables.”

“Stables?” Levi sighed exaggeratively and scrambled to walk side-by-side with Erwin. “You cluster fuck, it's about to get dark and you want to run off to some far away castle?”

“Language, Levi.” He eyed the small man who scoffed again. “We're only going up to those woods over there. I'm getting the horses since I doubt we should be walking back all the way here with potentially wolves on our heels.”

“Of course.” Levi ran ahead and opened the large stable door. “ _Your highness_.” He bowed mockingly. Erwin forced himself to frown back at the man yet his lips yearned to smile. He grabbed his horse's saddle and bridle and went off to find the white stallion.

“Get your horse, Levi.” He called back. After saddling his own brute horse he led it outside and waited for his partner to join him. A clopping of hooves signified their appearance, where Levi gently led out his horse by the bridle, the thing carefully walking side-by-side with him. “Alright, let's mount.” He caught his foot in a stirrup and hooked the other leg over his horse, laying to sit in the saddle. Erwin was about to set off when he noticed Levi was having trouble climbing onto his horse. He was about to ask if he needed help when he remembered the pride the man carried himself with. Silently, he dismounted his own horse and crept behind the struggling Levi. Without a moment's hesitation, he clasped the man's sides and lifted him in a small effort. Levi immediately swore.

“What the fu-! Let me go you mangled onion-eyed varlot! I'll skin your artless wig off-” Erwin flinched as the Levi squirmed in his hold and tried to hit him, yet managed to place him delicately in the saddle. Levi shut up when Erwin turned and went back to his horse, landing them in another awkward silence. Erwin almost missed the muttered 'thanks' and smiled to himself as he remounted his own horse. Levi had turned his own mount and looked expectantly at Erwin, with a faint dust of embarrassment sketched on his cheeks.

“Follow me.” He clicked his tongue and both horses lurched forward into a lumpy trot. He nudged his own mount with a heel twice and leaned forward, the horse slinking into a gallop and racing across the grass. He cast a quick glance back and saw Levi following suite.

The dusk Spring air felt warm and Erwin slackened his hold of the reins. He looked right to the sun, just peeking out over the hills, and gorged in the dying rays. The sky barely held any cloud and it's usual crisp blue colour leaked purples and pinks as the sun bled. Bird song and the soft rustle of the grass under-toned the even, dull thud of their mounts' hooves. Erwin reveled in the moment of peace and stared at the pine wood growing increasingly closer to them. In a short matter of moments he already had to draw them to a stop and dismount, tying the bridles to a nearby twig jutting from a small sapling.

“Now this is where we talk, Levi.” He opened his arms at the forest looming behind him. Levi gave a look tinged with hesitance but nodded. “I know this may seem a bit over-the-top, but this is what I've been driven to do, largely by my officers. Before I go on, I want your view first. Why do you disobey the other officers?” Levi looked taken aback. He then scowled.

“They tell me to do useless things.”

“Like what?”

“... Well... For one, they tell me to grip the swords 'properly', but the way I hold them seems far more efficient to me...” He paused and looked up at Erwin's expectant face. “I don't know, okay? They just order me around even though I see a better way of doing something.” Erwin nodded and looked thoughtful.

“I understand. But in turn, you have to understand that you need to listen to them and trust their judgements.” Levi looked ready to bite back but Erwin quickly continued. “What do you think would happen if everyone on a mission suddenly decided to do their own thing and split up? We'd all die. Levi, without organisation we'd all be dead. Now, we can't organise or plan the free will of the entire corps, but we can entrust a few individuals to do the judgement for a group when something happens. Do you understand?” Levi shifted his gaze.

“But how can I trust my life with someone else?” He murmured. Erwin sloped his shoulders and walked closer to him.

“You just have to trust them.” He softly replied. Levi glowered at that.

“But I don't! What if they make a mistake? What if they're scared themselves? What if they die? What if-” He grabbed Levi's shoulder, silencing his increasingly hysterical wailing. He thought it over just a bit more before replying.

“Levi, do you trust me?” The man finally met his gaze again. He nodded with a tightly drawn mouth. Erwin sighed. “If I assign you to my squad, where you follow my lead and my lead only, will you not run off?” He nodded. “Won't disobey direct orders?” A pause, then a nod. “Listen to other officers, just a bit longer until after you finish training?” Levi's face twisted into disgust again. He nodded solemnly. Erwin finally smiled and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly before letting go. “Thank you, Levi.”

“Mhm...” Erwin turned back to look at the forest, darker now that the sun had completely laid to rest behind the horizon.

“Now, I was going to have you show me your flying skills but it seems I misjudged the time.” He looked down at the small figure and gave another smile. “You know, your flying has improved since I last saw it in the underground, I didn't think that's even possible yet you've proved me wrong.”

“So we got the odm gear out for no reason?”

“Not quite” Levi grunted at that and stared into the darkness of the forest.

“I suppose we could still fly a bit, there is little light left but just enough for a few minutes.” He waved to Levi. “Follow me.” The odm hooked two lines into a tree and Erwin flew up onto a branch, crouching down near the top of the abnormally sized thing. He had just landed in time to see Levi follow suit. The man done it with far more grace then he ever could, even adding a small somersault, albeit at the cost of a little gas. With feline grace he jumped onto the thick branch, right next to Erwin.

“You're so clumsy when you fly.” Levi muttered as he withdrew the hooks.

“I'm also twice as big as you.” Erwin laughed. “But yes. You fly really well, I think that might be the best flying in the Corps. How do you learn to fly like that?” Levi shrugged and sat down. The sky above had nearly completely turned a rich blue, only the place where the sun had just disappeared was a little pink but that was quickly being overtaken by the purple and then the blue. They both listened in a comfortable silence as the bird song died down and was replaced by a low humming of the night sounds. “Levi.”

“Yeah?”

“Listen to what I tell you.”

“I already am you cretin.”

“Right. Anyway, do you promise to come to me if something happens again?” He looked at Levi, who was slightly swinging his legs over the branch.

“Sure.”

“So you won't fly off?”

“... I mean... I'll try.” He looked back down.

“Good, good.” Erwin cast a glance at the sky, where a lone star peeked out now. “We should be heading back now, Levi.” Levi nodded and waited for Erwin to fly down. When Erwin looked up, he saw Levi doing another little trick, in the form of a spin now. “Why the spin?” He asked as he walked back to the horses.

“It adds speed.” Levi grumbled.

“Ah.”

“Can we go home now?” _Home._

“Of course.”

“Just don't lift me again you idiot.” They both untied their horses, just as a wolf howled in the distance, with Levi leading his over to a rock to help himself climb on. The run back to the hq seemed shorter than the one leaving it. When they got back, Erwin handed the horses to an unsuspecting new recruit loitering around the stables.

“Tend to these horses and you won't be punished for being out after hours.” Erwin had handed the reins to the trembling recruit, who saluted and nodded vigorously.

When they had taken care of their horses and placed the gear back, they both trudged up the staircase and down the hallway to Erwin's office. Levi said nothing, just followed Erwin.

“Ah, I forgot.” Erwin opened the door and saw two bowls of stew-like soup laying on his desk. “I had sent for Mike to bring some food before we left.” He grinned down at Levi, whose had eyes brightened a fraction and menace softened. He shut the door behind them just as Levi rushed over and sat across the desk and dug into the food with a ravenous fervour.

Erwin laughed lightly and sat on his side of the desk, similarly spooning the food into his mouth. It had gone cold, yet neither the potatoes or the meat had lost their flavour. He drew open the latest formation map between bites, getting a crude pencil out. Levi watched intently as Erwin scribbled out Levi's name in Walbrunn's squad, instead writing it in his own. He looked up at the man.

“Satisfied?” He asked. Levi nodded.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please be welcome to leave any comments, and the like, to the work! :) Also, “Bedtime stories” will all [most likely] be canon era! Any prompts are welcome, keeping in mind the main pairing of Erwin/Levi. Suggestions for AUs are also welcome, however they will probably be separate works, perhaps I could make another collection specifically for those.
> 
> As can be seen, this work is part of the "Bedtime stories" collection. Like the name suggests, these are supposed to be short and sweet stories and the writing style is supposed to reflect this. Due to that, I try to drag descriptions on just a tad longer than I usually would and use a softer vocabulary. If anyone can confirm this works for the pieces, or advise why it doesn't, I'd be very grateful.
> 
> Have a nice day!


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